


Shakarian

by SwordsandShields99



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Smut, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-20
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:48:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 21,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23233510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SwordsandShields99/pseuds/SwordsandShields99
Summary: I became obsessed with  FemShep/Garrus, and had to start writing. More in-depth romance scenes going through the trilogy, adding some more fluff/smut/romance.
Relationships: Female Shepard/Garrus Vakarian
Comments: 6
Kudos: 82





	1. ME1

When Shepard first met Garrus, she hadn’t thought much at the time. She was impressed at his integrity, how he stood up to his superior for what he knew was right. But she thought that would be her only encounter with him. She didn’t expect to see him in Dr Michel’s office, crouched behind cover. Hell, she blew his sneak attack method, but at least she was a distraction, because it turned out this Vakarian was a killer shot. He stepped out from behind cover at the perfect angle and made the perfect shot with his pistol without flinching. Once they finished off the rest of the criminals, he asked to join her. He seemed hellbent on bringing Saren to justice.    
  
“You’re Turian, why help us bring down Saren?” she asked.

He responded with passion and fire in his voice, “He is a traitor, and a disgrace to my people!” It was obvious he meant it. 

“Welcome aboard, Garrus.” 

He began speaking of how Saren would be prepared for the charges against him, and she began to inspect her new squad-mate more carefully. Even by Turian standards he was tall, and well built. He was a fighter, that much was clear. She bet he was a brawler, at the front of the fight. He had to be with that type of body. But then again, that shot was incredible. She noticed how trim his waist was, even in his armor. And for some reason, she couldn’t stop listening to the timbre of his voice, the subtle hum of the dual-tonality. By any species’ standards, that voice was killer. She forced herself to snap out of it, and headed towards their next target. Fist wasn’t going to have a good day. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He watched as Wrex and Shepard pointed their pistols at each other. Shepard didn’t back down, showed no fear. Slowly, she lowered her weapon. Eventually, Wrex did too. He watched as Ashley approached, weapon drawn. He really didn’t like that human. Mostly because she didn’t like him, and any other person who wasn’t human. She was one of the most racist humans he had ever met, and he loved that Shepard didn’t put up with it. She heard every one of Ashley’s complaints, and then brought another person of a different race aboard. Shepard wasn’t having her crap now either. Shepard barked at the other woman, and put her in her place quickly. 

  
As Ashley walked away, the tension diffused. Garrus started thinking about Shepard’s views on other races. Sure, she seemed aware of culture differences and tensions, and she had certainly been doing her homework since they’d met on various races and customs, but he had never seen her act on prejudices. He’d only see her defend those different from her. It was a view he shared, although sometimes it felt as though they were in the minority with their views. He had told her that the Normandy was the best of Human technology and Turian engineering. He knew that the two races could accomplish so much if they learned to work together.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He put so many bullets in Saren, there’s no way the Turian should still be standing, but there he was anyway. Garrus knew he was too close to pull out his sniper, but he wished there was more he could do. Suddenly, there was an explosion, and Garrus found himself face down in the water. He lifted himself up to find Saren running towards Shepard. Garrus reached for his pistol, but it was too late. Saren had taken her by the throat and pushed her through the water, until he eventually lifted her up in the air in a crazy show of strength. Garrus didn’t have a clean shot, but he knew Shepard didn’t have enough time. A turian could easily break a human’s neck like that. Another explosion caused Saren to be distracted, and he watched Shepard punch him so hard in the face that he dropped her and fell back to the ground. He had never seen a human make a punch like that. “Shit!” he said in surprise. She staggered a bit, clearly dazed from the lack of air, Garrus made a couple shots on Saren that didn’t make a damned difference, and he got away. “Bastard,” Garrus grumbled. He watched Shepard lift Alenko over her shoulder like it was nothing and head for the Normandy. This human was more than what she seemed. She had proved that every day he had been in her squad, but damn was she tough. “Badass”, he said in an impressed tone, his mandibles fluttering slightly. 

\------------------------------------------------------

He had watched as she emerged from the rubble, alive.  _ ‘Damn, she’s one tough human,’ _ he thought fondly. Now, the Normandy was heading back towards Palaven. The Turian government was falling apart after Saren’s corruption, and C-sec was doing as much as they could, but it wasn’t enough. 

He heard her enter through the doors, and he turned to face her. “Thanks Shepard, for bringing me back home. I was wondering, once Palaven is more stable and my job is done… well if you need a Turian sniper and combat specialist, I’d love to be on your squad.”   
  


“I’d like that too, Garrus” she smiled at him. “We both know there’s more coming that won’t wait. I need someone like you on my team, someone I can trust. As soon as you’re done here, say the word.” She reached out a hand and he shook it. Honestly, there wasn’t anyone in the galaxy he respected more than her. “Good luck on Palaven, I’m sure they’ll be happy to have a hero come home to help,” she said.

“Ha, let’s hope you’re right.”    
  
He walked off the Normandy and watched as it took off. He felt strange. Instead of feeling like he had finally returned home, he felt as though he was leaving it. He turned around and saw a news clip with his picture. _ ‘Commander Shepard contacted the Turian government, recognizing the service of Garrus Vakarian yesterday. Shepard claims that without Vakarian, Saren would have easily won. She cited several cases in which Vakarian rescued the team, and how he was the one who took the kill shot on Saren. She said that his goal was to bring Saren to justice for not only the council, but for Palaven.’  _

Garrus shook his head in disbelief. He hadn’t known she had done that. 

“There he is!” he heard a man shout. “It’s Vakarian!”

“THE Vakarian?” a woman shouted back. Suddenly, he was surrounded by Turians shaking his hand. The group’s sub-vocals were so loud he could barely hear their words. He stood tall, glad that Turians don’t blush like humans. 


	2. ME2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> NSFW / smut

Garrus closed the report and set the data pad down on his desk. He was just about done on Palaven. He started writing a note to Shepard about returning to the Normandy. He turned on his omni-tool, and heard the bleep of an alert he had set for news of Shepard and the Normandy. 

‘ _ The Normandy was destroyed yesterday after an attack. There were a few casualties, with Commander Shepard being one of them. It’s a dark day here at the citadel, Earth, and everywhere. The Alliance is investigating the attack, and hasn’t given any further information…..’ _

Garrus gripped the edge of the desk for support. There was no way. She was the toughest person he knew, she couldn’t just… die. His mind was flooded with memories of her, in the heat of battle tearing down anything in their way. On the Normandy, drink in hand as they played cards. Their sparring matches after she asked him for help to improve her hand-to-hand combat after Saren nearly choked her to death. They had gotten so close. In fact, he considered her his best friend. There was… no way. He turned on the news reports, and stories were flooding in of her death. 

He received a message from Joker on his omni-tool. “Hey Garrus, I know you’ve probably heard. I… I know you two were good friends. Listen, she died saving my ass. She got me into an escape pod, but an explosion ripped her away. I… I watched her get spaced,” the human said as he began to choke up. “I’m sorry Garrus, I’m… I’m sorry.” The message ended abruptly. 

Garrus huffed as he sat down in his chair. If someone as good as Shepard could… this was unacceptable. An unacceptable fate for someone like her. He felt himself become consumed with rage. He grabbed his armor and his weapons, and headed for a transport ship. He would continue on in her honor. Not in c-spec, but like her. He wasn’t a Spectre, but he sure as hell could act like one. He flipped open his omni-tool.  _ ‘Omega has always been a shit-hole, but the gangs are getting out of control,’  _ a woman rang out into the mic, ‘ _ they killed my son!’ _

It was true, Omega had always been a shit-hole. But maybe he could do something about it. He punched in the coordinates and headed in a new direction. He threw his omni-tool out the airlock. No one would be able to find him now. 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------

He was pinned down, with no way out. Damn it, how had he gotten himself into this corner? He was one of the best combat specialists in the galaxy, and he let his emotions get the better of him. Hell, if he was going to die, at least he would go down taking these assholes with him. He aimed his sniper at the bridge and took two out. Suddenly, through his scope, he saw N7 armor. His mind instantly flashed to memories of an old friend. What was an N7 doing out here? He turned the scope to her helmet. The way she walked, the way she moved. She started crossing the bridge, and he used a concussive shot to knock her helmet off. His mouth popped open and his subvocals betrayed his feelings. She had been dead for two years, there’s no way. He watched as she took out the mercs on her way up to him. She finally entered the room he was in, and he took out the last merc that had followed her in.

“Archangel?” she asked tentatively. She didn’t know it was him? Ha! 

He tried getting up, but was too tired. He had gone for longer than he could remember without food or water, and he hadn’t slept since he had gotten cornered. A few days maybe? He leaned on his sniper to manage it, and slowly walked over to her. He sat down quickly, and removed his helmet. “Shepard, I thought you were dead,” he said quietly, still in shock.

“Garrus!” she said excitedly, as if this wasn’t completely insane. As if she had just saw him a few days ago. “What are you doing here?”  
  
"Oh, you know. Keeping my skills sharp, a little target practice,” he said, still softly. He didn’t have the energy. 

Her expression changed from excitement to worry, taking in his condition. “You ok?” she said more softly.

“I’ve been better, but it sure is good to see a friendly face,” he said. “Killing mercs is hard work, especially on my own.”

“You nailed me good a few times,” she said, flexing her shoulders.

“Concussive rounds only, no damage done. Didn’t want the mercs getting suspicious,” he teased.

“Uh-huh, sure,” she snorted.

“If I had wanted to do more than take your shields down, I’d have done it,” he teased more.

“True enough,” she laughed

“Besides, you were taking your sweet time and I needed to get you moving.”

They came up with a plan, and it felt just like old times.He watched as Shepard kicked ass. They barely got a shot off on him. She seemed stronger now, if that was possible. He had seen the scars on her face. But it was her, and that’s what mattered. They regrouped before the next wave. Spirits, was he tired. He could barely hold up his rifle at this point. He couldn’t even get through a whole sentence without gasping for breaths in between, and he knew she could tell. If you didn’t know Shepard, you wouldn’t see the worry in her eyes, but he did. He knew he was in rough shape, but he stood tall anyhow. She left one of her teammates with him this time. She knew he was tiring out. He talked her through closing all the doors through their comms, and his breathing was getting more ragged. He could tell he was starting to sound worried. “He’s got me pinned down,” Garrus warned. “I need help with this guy Shepard.” He was running low on ammo for his pistol, and this asshole was too close for his sniper. Suddenly, she was through the door and put a bullet right through the asshole’s head. “Thanks Shepard,” he said. Suddenly, there was another wave of enemies headed towards them. He called out their locations to her through the comms, and things were finally starting to seem like they were coming to an end. Thanks to her, he might just make it out of this alive. Suddenly, he felt bullets pummeling into his armor. He took a shot to the leg, and fell to the ground. He drug himself behind cover. He needed to get out of this room before they bombed him. He grunted, trying to get up and move faster, but he was just too tired. Suddenly, it was too late. He saw the rocket right before it hit him right in the face, and everything went black.

\--------------------------------------

“Garrus!” Shepard screamed, but the Turian lay lifeless on the ground. She shot wildly, and ruthlessly, and it took mere minutes for every enemy around to be dead on the ground. She ran up to him, afraid to touch him or move him. Afraid that he was already gone. She gently rolled him towards her, and his eye shot open as he gasped for breath. He looked around wildly in a panic. “It’s ok, it’s ok big guy, I’ve got you, I’ve got you,” she said through tears. She leaned him into her a bit more, and heard as his lungs fill with blood. He gasped for air, and clutched his hands tightly. “Can you hear me Garrus?” she said, but he didn’t respond. 

“He’s in bad shape, he’s not gonna make it,” one of her teammates said.   
“Shut up!” she said harshly. “You’re gonna be ok, Garrus, I’ve got you.” 

Half of his face was just gone, his plates shredded, and his eye swollen shut and black. There was blood everywhere. The floor was a puddle of blue, and her hands and armor were soaked with it. He was losing blood at an alarming rate. She heard the gurgling sound he made as he tried to breathe from the blood filling his lungs further. Medigel couldn’t fix this, and she had nothing to help him. She just prayed the medivac would get there in time. 

She felt hot tears sting her cheeks. “Garrus!” she shouted, and suddenly he looked at her, seeing her for the first time, and he relaxed a bit. “Stay with me, please!” she said softly. “I need you at my six, soldier.” She gently pressed her forehead against his and closed her eyes. “Stay with me big guy.” She felt his breathing becoming more shallow, felt his grip loosening on her hand. She had lost so much. Everyone else had moved on, had other responsibilities in their lives. The world had passed her by already. She had woken to a different world with strange faces. When she saw his, she felt a wave of relief. He was ready to follow her, to have her six, no questions asked, no hesitation. She felt like she had finally returned home. Like the Normandy could be home again. She couldn’t bear the thought of losing her best friend like this. When the medivac finally arrived, she could barely see his chest rising and falling. He had been passed out for several minutes. The only sound was the faintest sound of the gurgling in his lungs with the few breaths he took. If anyone could survive a rocket to the face, it was Garrus. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------

He was in surgery for hours. She leaned over the table, sick with worry. Jacob walked in, and she looked at him, begging for good news. “We’ve done everything we can for Garrus, but he took a bad hit,” the man said softly. Shepard looked down. She knew that much. “The docs corrected with surgical procedures and some cybernetics. Best we can tell, he’ll have full functionality.” She breathed a sigh of relief. He’d be ok. The door opened again, and in walked the Turian himself. “Damn, tough son-of-a-bitch. Didn’t think he’d be up yet.” Shepard smiled at that. Not many people knew just how tough Garrus Vakarian was. 

Still, she couldn’t shake the worry, the guilt of not being able to stop this from happening, and he saw it in her face. “Nobody would give me a mirror, how bad is it?” he said pointing to his face, trying to tease her and lighten the mood. 

“Hell Garrus, you were always ugly. Just slap some facepaint on there and no one will even notice.” 

He should have expected her quick wit, the teasing he was used to from her, but it still took him by surprise. He laughed, and quickly winced in pain. He could barely talk through the pain, much less laugh. “AH, don’t make me laugh!” he teased again. “My face is barely holding it together as it is. Oh well, some women find scars attractive. Mind you, most of those women are Krogan.” 

Shepard outright laughed then. It felt good to joke around again, just like old times. Jacob left, and Garrus got more serious. “Frankly, I’m more worried about you,” he stepped forward inspecting the bright glowing scars on her face. “Cerberus, Shepard?”

“It’s not like I had much of a choice. The whole, being dead thing and all.”

“Damn, so they really brought you back after being dead for two years?”   
  
“Seems that way. Unless this is all an elaborate ruse of my subconscious and this is actually hell,” she teased. “Besides, that’s why you’re here. I need someone I can trust if I’m walking into hell.”

“Ha. Well, you realize that has me walking into hell too? Hm.. just like old times,” he said with his deep voice. “Well, I’m going to go see what they’ve done to the old girl, see if I can get her running in tip top shape.” 

She laughed as he turned to leave, “Make sure you rest up too, Garrus, you did just take a rocket to the face.” 

He held up his hand dismissively as he left. Tough son-of-a-bitch. 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Garrus couldn’t sleep. The pain in his mandible and face was keeping him up most nights. He pictured the rocket coming for him, pictured Shepard holding him, trying to patch him up- blue blood all over her face and armor and hands. Tears streaming down her face, as she kissed him. They had been through some rough shit together, and he’d never seen her cry. And he knew that it wasn’t a kiss for her, just something Turians considered kissing. But still, it felt so… intimate. He had a hard time getting it out of his head. His memory was blurry at that point, but that much seemed pretty clear. He sat at one of the tables in the mess, looking over some schematics for some new ship weaponry. He placed a hand over the bandage on his neck, and hissed as it burned.

“You ok?” he heard a familiar voice ask. “Dr. Chakwas could give you some more for the pain, help you sleep,” she said softly as she sat in front of him at the table. 

“I’m good,” he replied quickly fumbling for the datapad. 

She raised an eyebrow at him, and put her hand over his. “Take care of yourself, Garrus. I… I need you at my six out there tomorrow.” 

He looked into her eyes, and saw sincerity there. “Shepard, if there’s one thing you can count on, it’s that I’ll have your six.”

She smiled, “I know Vakarian, but not if you’re on your ass.” She stood and jutted her jaw towards the infirmary. She walked away, and he found himself in Dr. Chakwas office a moment later. 

“It’s a good thing you came in, Garrus. This looks infected. I can treat that quickly.” 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shepard jumped over the cover, shooting an enemy at point-blank range in the face with her pistol, while simultaneously taking out her Collector Particle Beam, and aiming it right for the ship that was raining bullets and rockets down on them. Completely fearless, she stared it down, and blew it to bits in a matter of seconds. She calmly holstered her weapon, and placed a hand on her hips as she turned to look at her team. “Nice shot!” he yelled out in excitement. She grinned at him. “That was pretty badass, wasn’t it?” 

“Damn, Shepard, save some for us,” he grinned back. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Shore leave?” he asked. “What’s that?” 

“Ha-ha, Vakarian. Enjoy it while it lasts.”

“Which won’t be long, if I know any better,” he teased. 

“Want to grab a drink?” she smiled. 

“Hell yeah, let me just finish up these calibrations. Meet you at the docking bay in 30?” 

“Sounds good,” she said with a smile. 

He expected half the squad to be there too. Everybody loved Shepard, but even he knew that the two of them were the closest friends. They just had more history, and they had always gotten along well, sharing the same beliefs and morals. When the Normandy doors opened to the docking bay, he was not only surprised to find it was just her, but even more shocked to see her in civilian clothes. They fit tight, and looked good on her. The cut of the material accentuated her tiny waist, and the heels made her come up to his shoulder. 

She smiled as she caught him staring. “Damn Shep, didn’t think you owned anything that wasn’t military.”

“Yeah, well, a girl’s gotta live a little,” she said as she started walking away. 

They stayed at the bar all night, talking and laughing. Exchanging stories of their past, talking about their histories and their families. He hadn’t been able to just sit back and relax in a long time, and it felt good. 

They walked back to the ship slowly, not feeling rushed or hurried for once. “Well, we’ve got one more night of shore leave, but I really wanted to try the other bar too. You up for round two tomorrow?”

“Hell yeah,” he agreed quickly. “Haven’t been able to relax and get a drink in so long. Gotta take advantage while we can, right?” 

She punched his arm lightly, “Definitely. I plan on getting more drinks tomorrow too. Don’t know when the next time will be when I can get drunk.”

“How many drinks will that take?” he teased.   
“Not sure, but I’ll find out,” she said with determination and playfulness in her voice. 

Suddenly, he felt her slow, and she leaned against a railing, looking out over the lake. “You know, I couldn’t do this without you Garrus.”

“Sure you could, not as stylishly of course,” he said as he leaned on the railing. 

“What do you think our chances are?” she asked.   
He shrugged, “Honestly? The collectors killed you once before and all it did was piss you off,” he laughed. “But we’re going in with a lot of factors and a lot of unknowns. We’re going to lose people.” He saw her face drop, “Not a happy analysis, I know, and don’t worry I won’t spread it around. But you know I’m with you regardless.” She smiled at him. 

“You don’t regret coming on this crazy-ass mission with me? Leaving c-sec or the Turian military?”

“Not for a minute,” he said without hesitation. “When it comes down to it Shepard, I don’t think I’m a very good Turian. When a Turian hears a bad order, he follows it. He might complain, but he knows his place. I just can’t do that. Not when the galaxy is at stake.”

“The galaxy owes you one then,” she laughed. 

He leaned a bit closer to her. “It’s strange preparing for battle on an Alliance ship. You humans don’t prepare for high risk missions like Turian’s do.”

“Oh? How do Turians do it then?”

“With violence usually. Turian ships have more operational discipline than your Alliance, but fewer personal restrictions. Our commanders run us tight, an they know we need to blow off steam. There’s training rooms, combat sims, even full contact sparring. Whatever helps people work off stress.”   
She looked at him incredulously, and he laughed. “It’s supervised, of course. No Turian would risk an injury that will affect the mission. Plus, it settles grudges amicably. I remember right before one mission, this recon scout and I had been at each other’s throats. Nerves mostly. She suggested we settle things in the ring.”

“I assume you took her down gently?” he chided.   


“Actually, she and I were the top ranked hand-to-hand specialists on the ship.”

“It never ceases to amaze me that you’re the best damned sniper I know, plus the best ranked hand-to-hand specialist,” she said as she shook her head.

His chest inflated a bit at that, but he wasn’t one to let a compliment get to his head, so he continued without remark. “I had reach, but she had flexibility. It was brutal. After 9 rounds they called it a tie. A lot of unhappy betters that day. We ended up holding a tiebreaker later in her quarters. More than one way to work off stress, I guess,” he chuckled, suddenly feeling awkward. Spirits, why did he bring that up?

She shook her head and laughed. “Are you carrying some stress now? I could help you get rid of it?”

It almost sounded like she was… no, she had never shown interest in him that way. She was human. “I uh.. Didn’t think you’d want to spar, commander.”   
“Hey, it’s been a while since you trained me back in the old days, but I’ve got some new tricks up my sleeve. Might as well test them out, on the biggest, baddest Turian around," she said, poking him with a finger and laughing. “Back to the Normandy!” she said loudly “Sparring!” 

“Uh… you're drunk Shepard.”   


“Not drunk, tipsy. It’ll help.”

“I doubt it, but I’ll go easy on you.”   
  
20 minutes later he was pinned down to the mat. She was a hell of a lot stronger than she used to be, Cerberus made sure of that. He had to actually think to take her down now, strategize. He used her strength against her, pinning her to the mat. She tried to maneuver around him, using his spurs against him, “Not so fast, Shepard,” he growled as he easily countered her move by using his carapace to pin her chest, knocking the air out of her. He eased up, letting her recover. “Done?” he asked. Before he had time to react she launched forward and knocked him on his ass. “Oof!” he let out, before she straddled his lap. “Uh, Shepard, this isn’t exactly a well known sparring move.”

“But it distracts your opponent,” she said softly as she pinned his hands down.

He couldn’t deny that, and his brow plates rose at her. Suddenly, he saw her face flush, and she seemed to hold her breath. He realized he had done the same. He respected the hell out of this woman. She was his best friend in all the galaxy. And with her in his lap like this, he quickly realized that maybe she was a bit more than that. He felt his heart rate spike at the thought, felt his breath hitch as she leaned a bit closer. Damn, she smelled good. He gripped at her waist more tightly. “Shep,” he whispered. 

She slowly kissed his damaged mandible, and quickly pulled away. “Sorry about that Vakarian, was supposed to work off stress, not add more tension,” she chuckled awkwardly, trying to back away, but he held onto her. 

“More than one way to work off Stress, Shep” he laughed. “But good match. I’ll have to watch for that move in the future.”

She smiled at him, “Make sure you do.” She walked away, leaving him behind to watch her waist sway as she left the room. 

\----------------------------------------

“Round two!” Shepard called out to him from the docking bay. She had upped her game with the civilian clothes. These were even tighter. Damn, her waist looked good. Ugh, was he crazy? This wasn’t a good idea. But then again, they were full of nothing but bad ideas. Going into a war they couldn’t survive. Why the hell not? If she wanted to, so did he. 

They sat at a private booth, with plenty of drinks. “So is this place everything you were hoping for?” he asked loudly over the music.   
  
“Sure is!” she said happily.

They talked for a while, but ended up having to sit so close they were touching due to the loud music. After a while, the conversation slowed, and he felt her place her hand on his. “So, any tips from our sparring session last night?”

“You’re left is a bit weak. Watch out for an upper hook from that side.”

She rose an eyebrow at him, “Anything else?”

He gulped, “Uh, good form though. That one move took me by surprise.” 

“I have more of those,” she said. “Maybe… maybe I could help you blow off some more steam some time. We could skip right to the tiebreaker this time. Test your reach and my flexibility,” her tone had gotten low, and she leaned in close. 

“I.. uh.. Never knew you had a weakness for men with scars,” he teased. “Why the hell not. There’s no one in the galaxy I respect more than you Shepard. If we ahh… can figure out how to make it work. Yeah,” he leaned in, trying to sound sexier, “Definitely.” 

Her eyes lit up at that word. “You won’t be grossed out by a human?” she teased, but he saw a pang of worry in her eyes. 

“You won’t be grossed out by a Turian?” he responded. She smiled at him, because they both knew the answer. “But, we could… practice… you know, just to make sure.” 

“Good idea, Vakarian,” she said softly as she leaned in. She placed her mouth to his mouth plates, and he wasn’t really sure what to do with that. He had seen humans kiss before, but he had never kissed. It wasn’t really a Turian thing. “That’s a human kiss,” she laughed.

“Ah,” he said awkwardly. “I’m afraid I can’t duplicate that precisely. But,” he grabbed her waist and pulled her close, “this is a Turian kiss.” He pressed his forehead to hers and inhaled her scent. She returned the gesture perfectly, “I know,” she smiled. 

“I wasn’t sure if you had known at the time,” he said, thinking back to when he was hit in the face with a rocket.

“You.. you remember that?” she said, shocked. “I… I’m sorry, I didn’t,”

He pulled her in close, pressing his forehead to hers again. “It means even more, now that I know it was intentional.” 

She gasped as he brought her onto his lap, as she had been last night. He nipped at her neck, and she let out a soft sigh. She felt his subharmonics rumble in his chest, and could hear them faintly. They felt nice against her chest, and she smiled. She leaned down, and gently pressed her mouth against his. He tried to make his mouth flexible, and her tongue found his. He was glad that was something both Turians and Humans did. She nipped at his mouthplate and he let out a low growl. She continued nipping at his mouthplate, along his mandible, to his neck, and he gripped her tighter. He felt her hips shift slightly against him and he groaned. Shepard laughed, “So, this won’t be a problem then? We good?”

He struggled to catch his breath and sound calm, “Yeah Shep, I think we’re good.” 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shepard looked over the reading material Mordin had given her. She rolled the antihistamine shot between her fingers, and looked through the book of comfortable positions for both species. She made it her mission to memorize all of the erogenous zones of a male Turian. She was still nervous. If this didn’t work, if… she would be more than disappointed. She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. She jumped in the shower to try and calm down. When she left her bathroom, Garrus was standing by the fish tank with a bottle. She watched him as he stumbled around her cabin, trying to turn on some music, telling her it wasn’t great wine. He started to tell her how he would compliment her if she were Turian. He was so nervous. The best sniper in the galaxy, a man who’d gone up against the worst people and the worst monsters imaginable, was fidgeting in her cabin, nervous. She walked over to him as he stumbled over his words, “and your waist is… very… supportive?”    
She stopped him before he could get further away from himself by placing a hand on his arm, “Whoa! Consider me seduced, smooth talker! It’s just me, so shut up and stop worrying,” she teased. 

He took a deep breath and chuckled. “I’ve seen so many things go wrong lately Shepard. I want something to go right. Just once… just…”    
She reached up and placed caressed his mandible. It was soft and sweet, and very different from how they usually were together. Being in a constant war will do that. He sighed again at her touch. He leaned forward and pressed his forehead against hers. He breathed in her scent to try and ground himself, to focus on the task at hand. He wanted to impress her, not babble like an idiot. 

“Just so you know,” she whispered, “You don’t have to try so hard. I know you, Garrus. You’ve already got my respect. I’m impressed by you every day. You already won that game. This…” she gestured between the two of them, “This is just for us. Just to relax. If I’m making you uncomfortable, or if this is doing the opposite of that then,”

He pulled her close, “You could never make me uncomfortable. Nervous, maybe. But never uncomfortable.” 

“Let’s crack open that wine,” she said with a smile. They sat on the couch and had a couple of glasses, just like they did before. They talked and laughed, and joked around. Before she knew it he was sitting so close their thighs were touching. She placed a hand on his and leaned over to kiss at his neck. She heard him purr in approval. She nipped gently, and smoothly glided over to straddle his lap. He instantly put his hands on her waist and squeezed.

He stopped her quickly, “Look this is awkward, but you know my um… biology doesn’t mix well with yours? I just don’t want you to get..” she lifted up the antihistamine shot from her pocket, and stabbed it into her thigh. She threw the shot over her shoulder and dove in to kiss his neck again.    


She felt him chuckle as he pulled his fingers through her hair, taking her head and raising it up to kiss her on the lips. His mouth plates parted slightly and she felt him suck on her lips slightly. It was very close to a human kiss, and she smiled. She felt his tongue on hers and she moaned softly. His hips responded by pushing up into her, and she rocked into him gently. She tried to remember all the right places to touch. She placed her hand on his neck to strengthen their kiss,and then moved it slowly so that it caressed the skin under his fringe. He groaned at that and she smiled, knowing it was working. “Ugh, you did your homework Shepard,” he growled. Suddenly, he reached his hands up beneath her shirt and lightly groped at her breasts. She inhaled sharply and rocked against him again. This time, he smiled, and then lowered his head to begin licking and nipping at her neck and earlobe. 

Her other hand had managed to wander down to his waist, and she slightly lifted his shirt to get to the exposed plates and skin beneath. She rubbed at the sensitive skin between plates at his waist, and he grunted. She heard his sub-vocals ringing then, and she kept it up. “Can I?” he asked, as he began to lift up her shirt. She helped him with it, and with the bra. He bent his head down and licked at her nipples, and she sighed happily. He stood from the couch, taking her with him. He went to move, but her legs were caught in an awkward position, one behind his hip spur and the other behind his leg spur. She untangled from him and stood on her own two feet. He looked at her awkwardly, “ha.. Sorry,” she didn’t let him finish. She reached over and helped him out of his shirt. She stared at him openly, she couldn’t help it. Everything was so foreign, so different, and yet so impossibly beautiful. “Ha… ahem.. Like what you see, Shepard?” he asked nervously. 

She looked up at him with eyes that could melt and said, “Very much,” and she traced the lines of his plates on his abdomen, moving to his carapace, and eventually placing both her arms around his neck, leaning in for a kiss. “You’re very handsome, Vakarian, but how am I supposed to get these things off?”    
At first, he felt a wave of awkwardness. Did she think his carapace was… removable? Spirits. Then he looked down, and realized she was staring at his pants. “OH! Ha, yeah, it’s difficult with the spurs and straps.” He leaned down and unstrapped his pants around his spurs, and when he stood she was ready to unbutton them at the top. She slowly pulled them down, and he stepped out of them. He felt so exposed, so vulnerable. She stared at his seams, and he saw a look of nervousness on her face as well.    
“They uh… they open up here,” he pointed. 

“Does it… does it feel nice to touch if they’re not.. Open?” she asked hesitantly. It wasn’t listed as an erogenous zone, but in all the vids she saw it seemed to be. 

“Yeah… yeah it does. It’s like… foreplay.” 

She smiled at him, “Oh, fun.” She walked closer to him. “Do you want to see where I… open up?” 

He laughed, “How could I say no?” He unbuttoned her pants and drug his talons down her thighs, until she was able to kick out of them. She shivered at his touch. He ran his talons back up her legs, up her stomach, until he reached her breasts and he took one in his hand. He used the other to pull her closer to him. They stood there, naked bodies touching, kissing each other for a while, just enjoying the closeness. She massaged the skin beneath his fringe and he shuddered. She took her other hand and placed it on his waist. She slowly moved towards his pelvic plates, looking into his face for reassurance. His eyes smiled and he pressed his forehead against hers. She ran her fingers along his seam, and he moaned softly. She pushed him back until he sat on the bed. She kissed along his carapace, down his abdomen, until she reached his seam, and she licked the length of it. If he wasn’t turned on before, he sure as hell was now. The pressure was building, and his seam started opening, plates shifting slowly. He saw her eyes widen, but she continued. Slowly, his blue length emerged. He knew humans had different color blood, different color skin, and he was hoping this wouldn’t freak her out. It didn’t seem to however, and she took it in her hand. He groaned a little more loudly than he had intended, throwing his head back, fringe hitting the mattress awkwardly. She rubbed him with her soft, warm hands, and he melted. He hoped everything else would go this well. He pulled her up to him and kissed her as passionately as he could with mouth plates. She responded to it with a moan, so he must have done it well. 

He slowly grazed his talon down her skin towards her lower half. She looked at his talon nervously. “I’ve got you,” he said quietly, and he gently parted her folds with his finger. He had read the docs Mordin sent him about human erogenous zones, and he knew of the small bead outside of her that needed attention, as well as a spot deep inside of her that needed attention. He was nervous, but didn’t show it. He slowly entered into her, and she gripped his arm tightly. He looked at her face, trying to gauge how she was feeling. Her eyes were shut tightly, and then suddenly, she moaned with pleasure. He breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t want his large finger or talon to hurt her. He used his thumb to massage her pearl, and bent down to insert his tongue inside of her. Her eyes shot open in shock, but before she could say whatever it is she was about to say, her back arched off the bed. His tongue was long and flexible, and he used it to reach all of the spots inside of her. He licked mercilessly, and Shepard’s hands balled up into fists around the sheets. 

“Garrus,” she hissed, and he moved his tongue and finger faster. She gasped, and then moaned out his name, and he felt her body change. He had done it, thank the spirits. At least this one thing worked out. Her back slowly returned to the mattress and she breathed heavily, her chest rising and falling. He suddenly realized he was staring at her breasts, and was getting turned on. Huh. Maybe there was something to those. 

“Well done,” she teased. "Now I understand what you meant about reach." He chuckled as she sat up to face him. 

“I try,” he teased back. “So…” they both looked at the bed, unsure of how to proceed. 

Mordin’s docs had listed a few basic positions that would be most comfortable and easy, so Garrus decided to start there. He crawled over to her, kissing her deeply, and he felt her relax beneath his touch. He pushed her down to the pillows and she landed happily with a smile. She pulled him on top of her, and he bent down to press his forehead to hers. He shouldn’t be doing that so much. That’s extremely intimate and emotional, and this was… what was this.. Casual? He wasn’t sure. But he couldn’t help it. And she returned the gesture quickly, eagerly. 

She spread her legs as wide as she could. Luckily, his hip spurs were wide enough so that in this position, her legs fit through them, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He smiled then. It felt right… it felt good. He let his body ease down closer to hers, and he felt the tip of his length graze her soft folds. He hardened at the touch, and Shepard sighed. He leaned down more, but saw a pained look on her face. His carapace was digging into her, and he quickly adjusted his arms to take the weight of it off her. “There,” she said happily. 

“Ready, Shep?” he asked softly. She nodded, and ran her fingers under his fringe. He moaned and leaned down into her, moaning softly as he entered her. 

Shepard felt his length, felt how it was solid and yet flexible. It molded to her, and it felt strange. It was incredibly warm, hot really, and naturally lubricated which was nice now, but had taken her by surprise at first. She wasn’t sure how she felt about it being flexible. She needed the pressure, needed the hardness of it. He entered her a few times, and suddenly, it grew much harder. She gasped in shock, and she felt the ridges that had seemed harmless at first extend outward into her walls. His eyes darted to hers, “Shep?” he asked cautiously. 

“It’s… it’s ok…keep going,” she tried to smile. 

She was so soft, so fragile. He wanted to fully harden inside her, he wanted to bite down hard on her, but couldn’t. He wanted to run his talons along her skin, but couldn’t. He was worried. She seemed to have the same feelings about him. 

He moved inside of her, and she moaned, “Oh…” she said, “Garrus,” her eyes closed and her hips tightened around him. She… she liked that… good. He moved inside her again, his length becoming fully erect now, his ridges twitching inside of her. He thrust into her and he heard her moan again. 

He could hardly hold back now. He tore at the sheets, talons shredding. He nipped at her neck, and began thrusting harder. He felt her raise her hips into him now, asking for more. “Yes,” he hissed and began pounding into her harder. He felt her becoming more wet, and it felt incredible. She clenched her walls around him and he groaned in pleasure. Spirits, she felt good. She really did. She felt… she felt perfect. Suddenly, she reached out and grabbed at his fringe, and bit down hard into his shoulder. It was perfect. He groaned into her neck, and bit the pillow case hard behind her head, shredding it with his teeth. 

“Garrus… you… you feel so good,” she managed. Suddenly, all of their worries were gone. It was just the two of them, like it had always been. They stayed like this for a while, moving in rhythm. Slowly, she pushed up on his carapace and he stopped.    
“I think… I think I need to change positions,” she said shyly. She removed her legs from his hip spurs, and he saw deep gouges in the backs of her thighs. So his spurs had hurt her.    


“Ah damnit, Shep I’m sorry, I…”

“No, no! Don’t start with that. We’re learning here. You know full well I was enjoying every second of that.”   
He grinned at her, and lifted her legs up suddenly. She squealed and he thought it was hilarious. He held on to both of her legs together and threw them over his shoulder, and he entered her from this angle. She cried out loudly, and he did the same. She was so tight at this angle, and her legs felt like pelvic plates squeezing at his length. He groaned and pounded into her. Her meaty backside and thighs seemed to not be bothered by his carapace or plates as he did so. He completely sheathed himself in her and he cried out again in pleasure.    


“Fuck, Garrus,” she called out to him.   


“Fuck Shep, you feel so good,” he cried out. 

After a moment, she pulled her legs away from him, and pushed him down to the bed. She straddled him like she had at the bar and ground her hips into him. She pushed him down so that he laid down completely, and she pushed herself down on top of his length hard. She let out a high pitched moan as she grabbed his carapace, and he did the same as he grabbed her hips and waist. She started to ride him then, and he was seeing spots in his vision. He looked at her, on top of him, riding him, and he knew then that he thought she was completely beautiful. Being Human or Turian didn’t make a single damned difference. She was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. She rammed into him hard, and clenched around him, and he hissed as his talons dug into her skin.    


“Sorry,” he barely managed to rasp out as he lifted his hips into her, needing more. 

“I liked it,” she said darkly. “You should do it again.” 

He looked at her cautiously, “You sure about that?” he growled out. 

She leaned down and bit him as hard as she could, not even phasing him really, and he dug his talons into her skin on her thighs, scraping up to her waist. He felt so satisfied in that moment. She was everything he needed. Everything he wanted. She groaned in pleasure at his touch, and began riding him wildly. She leaned down against his carapace, one breast on either side, and he heard her ass slapping up and down on him hard. He lifted his hips up into her and she cried out loudly, “Garrus!” and she was undone. She heard his mandibles twitching wildly against his face, and saw that his eyes were shut tight, his mouth open wide. He felt her walls clench around him, felt her warmth and wet encase him, and he was lost.    


He curled upwards, taking her in his arms, pressing his head to hers, “Shepard!” He shook violently with his release, his length twitching inside of her. He slowly left her and she saw his bright blue, completely erect cock with rock hard ridges throbbing over her stomach. She touched the tip and he shuddered, his eyes still closed. 

He had completed her. Filled her in ways she hadn’t realized were possible. She was going to be sore in the morning, hell she was already sore, but it was worth it. Every second with him was pure bliss. 

“Damn,” she sighed.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “Ha, and we were worried!” He laughed.

She laughed too, “Shepard and Vakarian, we should’ve known it would be awesome.”

He took her chin between his fingers so that she looked into his eyes, “It was… perfect, Shep.”

She nodded in agreement. “If we both make it out of this alive, maybe we should uh..”

“Definitely,” he said quickly. 

\---------------------- 

The next day, he felt lighter, happy. He caught her eye several times, and her smile warmed him. Apparently, he really had needed to blow off steam. It had been too long. 

“You’re working much more efficiently today than yesterday, Garrus.”

“Shut up, Edi,” he snorted.

“Logging you out, Garrus.”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------

_ ‘Garrus, we need you. We need you here. Palavan is falling apart. If this threat is real, you're the best Turian for the job. You really turned things around here after Saren. You could do the same now. Help prepare our world for an attack. Not everyone here is willing to believe, just as the council isn’t. But I believe you. But nothing will gain traction if you aren’t here to start it up.’ _

Garrus sighed, “Yeah… alright.”

His father nodded,  _ ‘It’s your duty, son. For your people.’ _

Good old Turian honor. He clicked off his omni-tool. “It’s ok, Garrus,” a familiar voice said at the door.

He turned to look, “You heard that, huh.” 

“You know that humans have so many different cultures, right?” she asked.

He nodded.

“Well, my culture is very similar to Turian culture. Honor, duty, and family come before everything else. Sacrifice is expected.”

“Huh,” he said thoughtfully “That explains a lot. I always thought you seemed more Turian than Human,” he laughed. 

She laughed too. “So, I’m trying to say… I understand. It’s not fun, and it’s not always fair, but it’s your duty. Your honor. You have to go.”

He looked at her and sighed. She really did understand. He felt relief and sadness all at once. 

She walked up to him and hugged him, “And when you’re done with that shit, I need you at my six, soldier.”

He wrapped his arms around her, “Yes, Ma’am.” 


	3. ME3 - Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> NSFW / Smut

He saw her ship land in the distance. He had been in battle all day, but he started running in that direction anyways. He could sleep when he’s dead, the old human expression goes. He had missed her. She was first, someone he still considered his Commander, although that wasn’t really true anymore. And more importantly, she was his best friend. They had sent messages back and forth, but he had become more and more busy on Palavan, with more and more responsibilities sent his way. And now, with a sudden outbreak of war, everything had changed in a day. His first job was to save Palavan, hell to save the galaxy. And she was his best shot at doing that. But he’d be lying if he said part of his motivation for running in her direction wasn’t about missing her, and wanting to watch her six if she was on the same planet he was. 

“I need someone, I don’t care who, as long as they can get us the Turian resources we need,” he heard her voice as he approached.

“I’m on it, Shepard,” he said with confidence. 

He saw a look of relief on her face. The same look she had given him when she had found Archangel. “Garrus!” she said with surprise.

“Vakarian, sir. I didn’t see you arrive.” 

“At ease, General,” Garrus responded with authority. 

Shepard raised an eyebrow. He was telling a General at ease? Damn, he’s moved up quickly. 

“You’re alive,” she said more quietly. When they had approached Palavan and seen the destruction, her heart ached. 

“I’m hard to kill, you should know that,” he said with a certain amount of sass. They shook hands, and he placed his other hand on top, and lingered a bit longer than was necessary. She didn’t pull away. 

“I was fighting alongside Victus all morning, he could be anywhere out there at this point,” Garrus said when asked about the next Primarch. He saw her quickly scan him for injury before moving outside to talk to Joker. 

Suddenly, out of nowhere a harvester was looming ahead, and he pulled out his weapon. It left just about as soon as it had arrived, dropping something and leaving it behind.

“Coming, Garrus?” Shepard asked, a brow raised. He could tell she already knew.

“Are you kidding?” he asked with excitement, “I’m right behind you.” 

_ Just like always, _ they both thought. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

They were back on the Palavan moon getting the final resources for the trek. But Shepard had pulled him down an Ally and tentatively reached out her hand to take his. He pulled her in close and kissed her deeply, leaning her back as he held her. 

“Mmm, that’s better than the handshake from earlier,” she whispered into his neck. 

“I wasn’t sure… if you still felt the same way about me,” he whispered back. 

“I wondered how you felt, too,” she whispered. She bit him hard on his good mandible, the way that she knew Turian’s liked, and he sighed. “Does that answer your question?”

He chuckled, “It definitely helps to clear things up. Might need a little more convincing though.” 

She smirked at him, “We can arrange that.”

“The scars are starting to fade, as I recall they drove you wild.” She laughed and blushed slightly. “But I can go out and get all new ones if it’ll help,” he said in a deep voice. 

She brushed the scarred side of his face. The derma-bandage had been removed to reveal the extent of his injuries. His skin was pocketed with scars from the back of his jaw all down his neck. But the scars in front had started to fade. His cheeks were so badly cut that you could nearly see through them to his teeth. The chipped areas of his upper mouth plate had started to grow back, although they were still severely damaged on the right side. “I just want Garrus Vakarian, codename Archangel. Scars or no scars. He’s sexy as hell.” 

His mandibles twitched slightly, and she heard his subharmonics hum. She smirked and kissed him. Maybe other humans couldn’t read Turians very well, couldn’t read the body language of their face plates or mandibles, couldn’t hear their sub-vocals, but Shepard loved that she could read his. He never lied to her, and she knew it. 

She backed off, “Ready to go?” 

“Right behind you,” he replied. 

\------------------------------------------------------

Everyone on the ship knew that Garrus and Shepard were old friends, inseparable really. But they were discreet about the true nature of their relationship. Only the main squad knew. So it didn’t surprise Shepard to see Dr. Michel, for the 5th time that week, stopping by the table Garrus was sitting at in the galley.

“I got this for you,” she said, as she handed him a box.

“Ah, thanks Dr. Michel. You shouldn’t have,” he replied awkwardly.

“It’s no bother. I saw it and… and thought of you. Being the only dextro, I figured there’s not a lot of good options for you.”

“Yeah, that’s for sure. Well, thanks again,” he said as he bent down to keep eating. The doctor hovered for a moment, before moving on.

Tali and Shepard sat down next to Garrus with their food, and Tali took the box. “Better watch yourself, Shepard,” Tali teased.

Garrus looked up in confusion, “Why?” he asked, and Tali giggled. 

“Ugh,” Shepard said softly. 

“I thought strategic and combat specialists were supposed to be observant?” Tali continued as she giggled. 

“What kind of a sniper are you, soldier,” Shepard joined in shaking her head in mock disappointment. 

“What is happening?” Garrus asked. “What am I missing?”

Tali stood up to leave, “Just let her down easy.” She glanced over at Dr. Michel’s table, and they caught her staring at Garrus. 

“Ahem,” Garrus cleared his throat, suddenly enraptured with the food he claimed tasted like garbage. He stood up to bring his plate over to the kitchens, when he was cut off by a newer member of the crew. A young female human. Tali and Shepard watched as she placed her arm on Garrus’ and whispered something. Garrus straightened his back, and shook his head before turning his back on the girl and returning to the table. 

“What was that?” Tali asked, already giggling.

“She… she said she had heard that I was the man to ask about Calibrations, and that she… she needed something calibrated in her quarters... if I … if I was interested.”

Tali began outright laughing, “Oh Shepard!” 

Shepard just smiled and shook her head. 

“Shepard, I didn’t… I”, he began to stutter.

She held up a hand, “No, no… I get it. You’re irresistible. Laugh it up, pretty boy.” She rose to walk away.

“Wait, Shepard!” he nearly squeaked. Tali was nearly doubled over laughing. 

“Watch yourself, Vakarian,” she said in a menacing tone. Tali clearly knew Shepard was joking, and Garrus was clearly not picking up on human body language very well today. “Coming, Tali?” she asked, and the Quarian rose and linked arms with Shepard. 

“You know Shepard, if everyone wasn’t terrified you’d have a load of men lining up to flirt with you,” she said over her shoulder as the pair walked away. 

They went to the Elevator, and Tali said her goodbyes. Garrus rushed through the doors right before they closed, and he pushed her up against the wall, kissing her passionately. Shepard laughed, threading her fingers through his. “Not mad, are you Shep?” he asked.

“Amused maybe, not mad.” She pressed her forehead against his. “I know you’ve got my six Vakarian. You’re the one person in the galaxy I can always trust.”

“Damned right,” he growled as he nipped at her jawline. 

“Have some time?” she asked. He suddenly got a strange look on his face. 

“In a bit?” he asked.

“Anytime Garrus, you know where to find me.” 

She left the elevator, and he was a man on a mission. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tali sat on Shepard’s couch. “So, you and Garrus are getting… quite serious.” 

Shepard smiled, “Yeah, yeah we are. I... “

“You love him?”

Shepard looked through her skylight up at the stars. “Yeah.” 

“I think, he’s getting quite serious about you.”

“What makes you say that?” Shepard asked.

“He’s been asking Joker and I for… courtship advice. I think he’s nervous about human customs involving next steps.” 

Shepard sighed, “There might not be a world for next steps.”   
  
“You can’t think like that Shepard. We’ll get through this. We don’t have a choice.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Sorry Tali,” she sighed. 

“Are you going to be with him after the war?” Tali asked.

“I hope so. He might not want that. Dating a human is one thing, but sticking with one long term, that’s a lot to handle.”

Tali giggled. “Sometimes you’re just as dense as he is. I’ve been trying to tell him that you feel the same way. That he doesn’t need to worry about protocol and traditions so much. It’s obvious that neither of you care enough about that to stop you from being together.” 

“What do you know, Tali?” Shepard asked, feeling a tightness in her chest.

“I can’t say Shepard. But I figured, if he’s doing research into the next steps of your relationship, big steps Shepard, well I figured you might want the chance to do the same.”   
  
Shepard's jaw nearly hit the floor. Tali stood to leave, “Tali, you can’t just leave now!” 

“I can’t say anymore Shepard, I promised. I’ve already done more than I should, but… Garrus is a good man. You both deserve whatever happiness you can find. But if it means something to him, you might want to look into… well doing a little research of your own.”

Shepard stood there frozen. “Thanks Tali.” 

“You’re welcome Shepard.” 

  
Shepard spent the rest of the night researching Turian dating customs. It was more involved than she had imagined. There was legit protocol. She had already missed some of it. Maybe she could make up for it tonight, if he came to visit. 

Just as the thought crossed her mind, her cabin door beeped. She quickly turned off her screen and answered. Garrus walked in with a good bottle of wine. “Hey Shep,” he said casually. She took a deep breath. No going back. If she could face the reapers, she could sure as hell do this. 

According to Turian protocol, their relationship wasn’t exactly official. She wasn’t sure if this was so traditional that it wasn’t practiced anymore. But she didn’t have time to ask. She wanted to show him she cared. Cared about him. Cared about Turian culture. 

When she didn’t answer him, he turned to face her. “Shep, what are you doing?”

She stood with her arms crossed, staring at him. She nodded her head down. He just stared at her blankly. “Shep?”

She repeated the motion. “Shep, are you… I’m not sure if…” She repeated the motion once more, looking stern. He snapped to attention. “Shit,” he said softly. 

He bowed low, exposing his long fringe to her. She walked around him slowly, looking at his fringe, his waist, his spurs, his carapace. Once she had circled him, he circled her slowly, reaching out to touch her waist as he did. 

She stepped up to him, and rose her face to meet his. She leaned her head forward, hoping that he would do the same. He pressed his forehead to hers forcefully, instantly, and she smiled. They were officially in the early stages of a Turian relationship. Not just a casual sexual partnership. 

He nuzzled her neck and hair, “You didn’t have to do that Shep. You’re not Turian, and I know how you feel. I know you know how I feel.”

“You’re important to me Garrus. Everything about you. Even your culture and history. I wanna do right by you.” 

He smiled into her hair and breathed in her scent. “Me too,” he said softly. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shepard leaned her back against the bar, drink in hand. She had gotten there early due to the nerves. It was strange. They had been friends for so long now, been through the toughest shit, always had each other’s six, and now she was nervous. She sighed and took a large swig of her drink. 

The two Turian women at the bar were whispering, but loud enough for Shepard to hear.

“Look at that one,” the first woman said, pointing at a male Turian at the end of the bar. 

“Yeah, not bad, not bad. He’s got a waist to die for, but his fringe is a bit short though, isn’t it?”

“True, true, you can do better.”

Shepard turned to face the bar, and gestured for another drink. 

“Sweet Spirits, would you look at that one? That one is blessed.” 

“That’s some of the longest fringe I’ve ever seen.”   
  
“Look at that waist! And those hips!”

“And so tall too. His markings are rather handsome, aren’t they?”

“Honey, I think you’ve won the lottery. Pray he’s single.”   
  
“That’s the most attractive Turian I’ve ever seen.”

Shepard grabbed her new drink. Her curiosity got the better of her, although part of her already knew who it was, and she turned to see who had gotten their attention. 

Garrus stood awkwardly by the door, scanning the wrong side of the room for her. She admired the view with them, smiling to herself. 

He turned the other way then, scanning the other side of the room, and Shepard heard the women gasp.

“Oh no, his face! What happened to him?”

“It ruined his markings on that side. And look at that mandible, all chipped. Damn, what a tragedy.” 

Sheppard’s light, bubbly feeling in her chest had started to turn sour. Garrus saw her as soon as he looked in her direction. She saw his steel blue eyes light up, his mandibles spread into a smile.

“Spirits, that smile would have melted me,” Shepard heard the women continue.

“Ruined,” one snorted. “I think only Krogan’s like scars,” she giggled. 

“And humans,” Shepard retorted loud enough for the women to hear.    
  
“Really?” one said in a mockingly shocked tone.

“It’s ragged,” Shepard said softly as Garrus approached. “It says tough, and courage, and brave.” 

One woman looked thoughtfully at Garrus, “I see it.”

“Only because he was already the most attractive Turian we’ve ever seen. If not, you wouldn't say that,” she chastised her friend. “He won’t go for your type,” she chided at Shepard.

Garrus reached the bar and sat down next to Shepard, and said in the most sensual tone she had ever heard, “Come here often?”

The two women nearly fell off their seats, before scurrying away. Shepard grinned. “Oh, you know, when I’m not off fighting a war. What about you?”

“Oh.. oh, um.. sure, great place to blow off steam,” he replied awkwardly. 

“View isn't bad either,” he said. He glanced at a female Turian on the dance floor, and Shepard followed his eyes. She was shaking her waist around sensually, and Shepard knew it was a turn on, and she felt a surge of jealousy in her gut. The Turian was eyeing Garrus like he was her next target. She winked at him, before turning around to give him a better view of her waist. 

By the time Shepard looked back at him with a scowl, he was staring at her, “though the view in front of me is even better,” he said as he leaned forward slightly, gesturing for a drink as the bartender walked by. 

Shepard still felt a pang of jealousy and remarked, “Is that supposed to melt a girl’s heart?”  
  
He leaned forward, placing a hand on her knee, “No, but this voice is,” he said deep and low, “I’m Garrus Vakarian, codename: Archangel. All around Turian bad-boy and dispenser of justice in an unjust galaxy….. Also I kill reapers on the side… And you are?” 

It took her a moment to regain her composure. That voice really did do it for her. She breathed in, trying to catch her breath. “Commander Shepard, Normandy Alliance,” she said in a flat, sarcastic voice. 

“Shepard, huh,” he said, getting even better at playing along. “I mighta heard a couple things about you.”

“Oh?” she asked.

“Word is you’re smart, sexy, a wicked shot… also, you kill reapers on the side too.”

She couldn’t help let a small giggle escape her, “Do girls usually fall for that?”

“Well sure, this voice, and um.. Uh…” he stumbled, “All the girls fall for it, let me show you,”

He said as he grabbed her wrist, and pulled her to the dance floor.

“NO!” she said, but it was too late. She tried to pull away, but he was too strong. 

He adjusted her body easily to be where it needed to be, and led her into a dance. She was dumbfounded, shocked. He was… actually dancing. Not club dancing, not a simple to and fro…. Dancing… like some rich guy from Earth. 

She felt out of place, embarrassed. “You’ll pay for this,” 

“Promises, promises,” he whispered into her ear, with the sexiest voice she had ever heard. 

Slowly, people started to notice. Turian/Human relationships just didn’t exist. And you definitely didn’t see them dancing sensually on a dance floor in a bar. Garrus placed his legs between hers, turning her and bending her around him. He was so skilled, that she didn’t really need to do anything, he could dance for them both. Eventually, she started to get the hang of it though. She moved her legs between his in response, and she laughed a little. Was she having fun right now?

“Ha… now you’re getting it,” he said deeply. She could hear the pur from his subvocals, feel the resonating dualtones through her chest, and somehow she knew what they meant… and it was incredibly hot.

The song ended and he dipped her low, and she wrapped her leg around his spur. He held her there, “So, tell me… think a girl would fall for that?” She could tell he already knew the answer. 

She felt her face grow red, and he smirked. “Putting that reach and flexibility to good use, Vakaraian,” she said as she let her fingertips graze the sensitive skin under his fringe.

She heard his subvocals hum as he pulled her upright, “You know it,” he said, and then he let a mandible drag across her cheek as he whispered in that low, sexy voice, “and it only gets better when you try it in bed.”

“Care to show me tonight, Archangel?” she said with a smile. 

“I can arrange that,” he said as he placed her hand around her waist, leading her towards the exit. 

“Grab a cab?” she whispered into his ear once they had left the bar. She needed to grab a few antihistamine shots. Maybe a lot of them. 

“On it,” he said, in the same tone he used when they were in battle, but with a small twinkle in his eye. 

She reached the pharmacy, and a young Turian was behind the counter. 

“Can I ask you something… random?” she said quietly. 

“Um.. yeah, ok,” she said with uncertainty.

“Do turians hate scars?” she asked, thinking of the women at the bar.

“Oh… well… yeah it’s a big turn off to be honest. We try real hard to be nothing like the Krogans, and the love scars. I had a friend back in school, who was super attractive. Was dating the most popular boy at school. Poor thing got in an accident, and had a tiny scar on her colony markings. He dumped her the next day.” 

“Damn,” Shepard said, “That’s just stupid.”    
  
The Turian shrugged, “Yeah well, can’t help it. Just doesn’t look right. We’re attracted to what’s best. Biggest carapace means more protection. More fringe means… more reach,” she blushed at that. “Better genes, I guess, but it’s all instinct. Scars mean you were slower than someone else. That’s just my theory,” she handed over the antihistamine shots, and eyed Shepard with a slow realization of the purchase. “Have a nice day,” she smiled. 

She walked outside and saw Garrus outside a cab, holding the door open for her.    
“I’d say our first date is going well,” he said smugly when he saw her purchase. 

“Oh?” she said sarcastically. “This isn’t for us,” she pointed at the bag. He instantly was thrown off his game, and looked at her in shock. “I’ll be using this in a few minutes when I’m in bed with the sexiest Turian in the galaxy. Goes by the codename Archangel.”

His smug smile returned immediately, “Ah. Lucky bastard.” 

They jumped in the cab and Garrus punched in the coordinates. When he turned to face Shepard she was practically in his lap, and kissed him hard. He tried to make his mouth plates as malleable as possible, but wasn’t quite quick enough. He felt her ease up in response, and he was worried she had gotten hurt, but before he could pull away to check, she reached up and grabbed at the front of his carapace, pulling him closer to her, and she straddled his lap. She got caught on his hips awkwardly, something that wouldn’t have happened with a human. He felt his confidence from the past hour start to fall away. But she seemed undeterred. He felt her lips pull up into a smile, and she giggled. She was happy. He didn’t seem to fit her, but instead of pulling away from him, she melted into him further until she magically fit. That was Shepard’s way. Make things work, even when everyone else says they can’t. She nibbled at mandibles, nipping with her teeth and tongue. He knew that she did that to imitate a Turian, but damn did it feel good on his plates. He never wanted her to think she was lesser than, or needed to make up or anything, because truly she didn’t. He kissed her, in a very human way. Their tongues met and he realized his harmonics were off the charts. If she was Turian she would laugh at him right about now. And then she was laughing. “What, Shepard?” he asked, his eyes still closed. 

“You…” she giggled, “you’re going crazy right now.” His eyes shot open, could she hear him? That wasn’t possible. Spirits, he had never told her, but sometimes he really wished she could hear him. For Turians, subvocals were as important as words when it came to expressing emotions.    
She saw the shocked look on his face, “Cybernetically enhanced hearing, Garrus. The whole, being brought back from the dead thing. Yes, I can hear you.” 

He gasped. “Wha… really?” He felt overwhelming emotion, and his subvocals went crazy once again, louder than ever. He hadn’t realized how much he had longed for her to hear him, to understand. He pushed her back against the seat, smothering her with his mouth plates and tongue.    
He felt her smile again, and he reached up and cupped her breast in his hand. It was natural, and he had done it out of instinct and desire. He had never done that before. He had only done it to imitate a human, to please her. He was shocked to realize that this time, he had done it for himself. He felt the buoyancy of them, the peak of her nipple hardening at his grasp, and he groaned realizing that it was incredibly attractive. Shepard picked up on that too.

They felt the shuttle slow as they approached Normandy. He pulled himself from her reluctantly, and she rose from the seat, patting down her messed hair. The door opened and they professionally and calmly walked out. When the elevator doors closed, before he had the chance to push into her, he felt a hand on his mandible. He looked into her eyes and saw something there that he couldn’t discern. “It’s sad that humans can’t hear subvocals. Every time you’ve had my six the past few months, every time you’ve backed me up… every time you’ve touched me… it’s been accompanied by an undeniable sincerity,” she whispered now. He nuzzled her hand. She understood. She really understood.

Shepard rose onto her tippy toes, trying to kiss his heck. He held her waist to help support her. “Every touch,” she kissed him softly, “every moan of pleasure,” she kissed a bit harder, “Every single one was real, and I heard that. I hear you,” she said as his subvocals hummed and rang with emotion. 

“I only wish that I could return that to you,” she said softly, “but I sure as hell am gonna try.” 

He couldn’t find any words to express how he felt then. Gratitude? Relief? Joy? Love? Thankfully, Shepard could hear it. 

The elevator doors opened, and she pulled him by the hand. They entered her room, and she sat him down on the couch. She sat down beside him, and gently traced her fingertips along his scars. His subvocals instantly changed. He knew she could find someone closer to home. Someone with less scars, less baggage. 

“Have I ever told you how sexy these are?” she said.

He laughed softly, sadly. “Yeah, you don’t have to lie to me Shepard.”

She looked at him, offended. “Garrus, I never lie to you.” He looked at her, and saw the sincerity in her eyes. “I mean, at one time, they just made me sad. Sad that I almost lost you. Sad that I couldn’t protect you. But, now that you’re better, now that you’re healed.... God damned if they aren’t sexy as hell.” She paused and looked at him, “What, you didn’t know that women find some scars attractive?” 

He shook his head with a grin, “Well sure, Krogans.” 

“Naw, most women, Garrus.”

“Not Turians, Shepard.”

“Huh,” she said with a small grin, “Good. More for me,” she said as she leaned in and kissed his damaged mandible. He almost winced, but remembered that she didn’t find it unattractive.    
She kissed the scars under his eye, “tough.” She kissed the scars on his cheek, “ragged.” She kissed the scars on his mandible, “brave.” She moved her mouth to hover over his, “Mine”, she growled softly, and bit at his mouth plates. He moaned so low that it mixed in with the purring of his subvocals. 

“Wait..” she stopped abruptly. “If Turians don’t like scars,” she looked down at her arms, and rose a hand to her cheek.    
Garrus berated himself. He had been feeling self conscious, and had forgotten about her numerous scars. 

He growled sensually, “I’m not like most Turians, Shepard.” He traced the scar on her cheek, “One more thing to add to our list of things we have in common.” He kissed her scar gently, before licking her sensually. “Besides, everyone thinks you’re sexy Shepard. It’s tough not getting a bit jealous sometimes.” 

“I could say the same,” she said.    


“Ha, yeah right,” he said quickly.   


“You had that woman at the bar tonight, dancing her incredibly slim waist and magically directing it right into your lap. Not to mention the two that were at the bar, talking about how you were the most sexy Turian they’d ever seen. What was it they said, your incredibly long fringe, tall and built figure, tight waist. Ugh,” she said in mock jealousy. 

“Really?” he said genuinely.  She nodded, before leaning in to bite at his neck. He inhaled sharply, pulling her closer to him.  “My fringe is pretty damned long,” he chuckled.   


“And your carapace is quote - to die for.” 

He purred with pride. He grabbed at her shoulders, pushing her clothes off. 

“On a first date, Archangel?” she said with mock surprise. “Can you show me just how sexy all around bad boy Turians can be?”

He growled and ripped at her remaining clothes. 

She quickly grabbed an antihistamine shot off of the table. While she did that, he unstrapped his pants. Once she put it back down, she began working at pulling his pants down over his spurs. She rose back up slowly, trailing her fingers along his spurs, thighs, and then over his pelvic plates. She slowed there, feeling them shift slightly beneath her touch. Suddenly, he picked her up and brought her over to her desk and sat her down She pulled at his shirt and brought it over his head, letting it fall to the ground. He slipped a finger inside her folds, and slowly worked at her the way he knew she liked. He leaned into her, using his long tongue to lick up her neck, and he nibbled at her ear gently. He heard her sigh, and it drove him further. He kissed her neck the best he could with his mouth plates and tongue, and he felt her fingers caress the sensitive skin beneath his fringe. Her other hand wandered down towards his waist, and found all the sensitive parts between his plates. He moaned into her neck, and breathed in her scent. Scent was a powerful thing to a mate. Her scent belonged to him, and it drove his desire. He pushed his forehead against hers, and he felt her bite at his mouth plates. The pressure behind his pelvic plates was so intense, that when he opened enough for his cock to slide through, he groaned louder than he meant to. 

Shepard reacted instantly upon hearing this. The noise was so primal, so guttural, that her hips seemed to respond with a mind of their own. She bucked into him and he grunted. He felt his cock quickly grow and harden, and Shepard instantly started grinding into him. His mandibles fluttered and his mouth opened wide, and his subharmonics sang out loudly with pleasure. Shepard had slowly learned all of these tells… he was ready, and so was she. She lifted her butt, and he ripped her underwear off quickly. She scooched to the edge of the desk, and Garrus moved closer. He placed both hands on her waist, so small for a human, so that his hands still fit perfectly. It was one thing, a very Turian thing, that still really mattered to him. She placed her legs on either side of his hips. They fit so perfectly on his hip spurs, and she wrapped her feet around him, pulling him in closer. He pressed his forehead to hers and sighed, and she took his cock and guided it inside of her. He slowly pressed his way inside of her, and groaned her name. 

“Oh Garrus,” she breathed. 

After a moment, he was fully sheathed within her, and he wrapped one arm around her waist and the other around her back and picked her up. She groaned as she felt his length press into her further. He felt her roll her hips into him and he groaned deeply. She felt so good. So warm around him, so incredibly soft. And yet the friction was just right. The ridges of his cock hit every curve within her, and he nearly shouted out as he felt her walls clamp down around him. She was riding him with abandon now. “Agh, Shepard,” he gasped. He laid her down on the bed and carefully placed her legs on his hip spurs to prevent as much chafing as possible. He pressed into her as far as he could, and he felt the tip of his cock reach the depths of her. She moaned loudly, and gripped his fringe. At this, he could no longer hold back. He pounded into her, grunting and gripping at her waist and breasts. His subvocals reached new heights, and he remembered that she could hear them, and he went even faster. His mandibles fluttered and clicked, and his mouth opened wide as a uniquely Turian dual-toned noise escaped him. He pounded even harder, and his pelvic plates hit Shepard’s sensitive spot perfectly with each thrust. At that, she lost herself, and let out a string of curses, and then finally sighed his name. As she clenched around him, he lost himself as well. He grunted and groaned, and his release came fast and hard. He flexed and spasmed within her, before gently leaning down to kiss her. He knew his carapace could hurt her if he wasn’t careful, but that was easy enough to avoid. He felt her lips smile against his mouth plates.

“Damn, Vakarian,” she whispered. “I’m one lucky woman.” 

His mandibles fluttered, “And I’m one lucky man,” he said as he pressed his forehead against hers. He slowly lifted himself so that he left her, and he heard her inhale sharply. 

“You ok?” he asked, and she nodded but with a small grimace as he lifted his body off of hers. He looked down to find her thighs and stomach red and agitated. He had pounded into without holding back he realized, and instantly felt bad. 

  
She grabbed his carapace roughly and pulled him down to her, “Hey,” she said with a strong kiss, “I liked it, ok? A lot. It’s worth it to me. Promise me you’ll do that again.”

“Shep,” he went to protest. 

“Garrus,” she said seriously. “I will always tell you if something’s not right, you know that.”

He nodded. “Promise?” she said again.

“Just can’t get enough, can ya Shep?” he teased. 

“Not of you,” she said softly. 

“You sure about that?” he asked in a deep voice.

She kissed him deeply in reply. “I wish I had subvocals, Garrus. I really do,” she whispered. 

“I think I can read you loud and clear, Shep,” he whispered back before kissing her again, running his fingers through her hair. He glimpsed back down at her thighs and stomach, which were rapidly growing redder and with a few scrapes he hadn’t noticed before. 

He grabbed some medigel and the ointment Mordin had suggested from the nightstand and softly rubbed it onto her. As he did, she massaged beneath his fringe, and he purred loudly. 

She laid back down on the pillows, and she nuzzled up to his neck. He lightly rubbed her back and listened as her breathing slowed. She was asleep so fast, and he watched her breasts rise and fall on his carapace. He heard her start to mumble in her sleep, and he listened carefully. “Cover…. Sniper…. Pancakes aren’t done yet….” he laughed quietly. He’d have to ask her what a pancake was. “I love you, Garrus.” His mandibles fluttered, as did his heart, and rested his head against hers and sighed. 


	4. ME3 - Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> NSFW/Smut  
> Trigger Warning: Rough / Consensual / Depression  
> Happy Ending :)

They were at the top of the Presidium, somewhere he had always wanted to go. Today was the day, hopefully his research was correct on human customs. He just wanted her. Forever.   
“Are you ready to be a one Turian kind of woman?” he had asked. 

“I love you, Garrus Vakarian” she said as she gripped his armor, and he kissed her deeply. 

When they got back to the Normandy, Joker pulled him aside. “Wait, that’s all you said?” Joker asked.

“Yeah, why?”  
  
“Uh-oh,” Joker said.

“Joker, what? What did I do wrong?”

“You actually have to ask her to marry you, you big giant dork! For all she knows, you were just asking her not to date other people!”

“It felt like she understood me,” Garrus said nervously.

Joker just gave him a sideways glance and turned his chair back to face the cockpit. “I don’t know man, I don’t know.” 

Spirits, he had tried so hard not to mess this up. He needed to know. He headed to her quarters right away. When he entered, she was already waiting for him. She had on a skimpy dress, and her hair was down. It was beautiful. 

She stood with her arms crossed and a stoic look on her face. Wait… was she?   
Garrus smiled, his mandibles clicking wildly.

He bowed low, just as before. He extended his head, trying to make his fringe look large and impressive, although he knew she didn’t care, he couldn’t help it. He puffed out his chest as she circled him. Even he had to admit, if it came down to physical Turian attributes, not many women would turn him down. He hadn’t met many men with longer fringe or larger carapaces. And he was nearly 7 feet tall. He was a protector, through and through, even in his actions. 

He circled her slowly, hands relishing the feeling of her waist. 

She leaned her head back, exposing her neck to him. “I hope you know what you’re doing Shepard,” he whispered. 

She remained silent, and didn’t move. “Shep, I can’t hold back.” She glared at him, trying to express that she knew, and she wanted this. Suddenly, he bit into her lower neck, hard. Even on a Turian woman, the bite was supposed to leave a scar, a permanent mark of their bond. But Shepard started bleeding profusely from his razor sharp teeth. She felt him lick at it with his tongue. She knew the next step. She wrapped a leg around his spur and sunk her teeth into his neck, trying her hardest to puncture his tough skin. She tasted the hot blood on her lips and smiled. He pushed her to the ground, pinning her beneath him, ripping off her clothes with one swift motion of his talon. She growled and tackled him in return, biting his neck and mandibles. She knew. She knew what this was. She knew what he had been asking on the Presidium. And this was it. This was the final act to seal the deal in traditional Turian customs. The bonding. 

It was supposed to be grueling, long, and tough. It wasn’t supposed to be tender and gentle. And he could tell she knew that, because he had never seen her have such ferocity in the bedroom. This was the Shepard he knew from the battlefield. She ravaged his body, and he flipped her up against a wall. His length was already out and ready. He couldn’t hold back. Not this time. He had to give her everything he had. But he didn’t wish to hurt her, so he flipped her around. Her backside was less sensitive to his hard plates and carapace, and her back was flatter so it was easier to avoid. She growled as she stuck out her ass, aggressively pushing up against his length, and he growled back as he entered her. He pounded into her with everything he had. It took only minutes before Shepard’s back and ass were red and chaffed, and only a few minutes more before his plates had begun to scratch open her skin, but he couldn’t stop. This was important, and she knew. He almost slowed when she began to bleed, but she shouted out, “No! Keep going Garrus! Through trial and pain we become bonded for life, allies, partners, aggh!” She shouted as her skin split open on her hip by his talons, “Lovers,” she tried to finish the old saying that was said during traditional Turian ceremonies. There were no ceremonies in times of war however, this was all they were going to get. He could hear the rest of it in his head, and he kept going. He flipped her around and picked her up, so that her legs rested above his hip spurs. He continued pounding her against the wall, and he growled viciously. His plates hit her pearl just right, and he felt her begin to near her climax. She screamed, and shouted, and finally he felt her come undone around him, screaming his name. He was sure the whole ship could hear him banging into her against the wall, but he didn’t care. Her walls clenched around him, and he found his release. He shuddered violently against her, and he slowly lowered them down to the ground, still using the wall for support. He collapsed on his knees and leaned his head against hers.

“Shepard,” he whispered.

“I love you,” she whispered back. He opened his eyes, and felt pride as he looked at her bond mark. He licked at it, and purred, and he heard her laugh softly. “Did I do it right?” she asked.

“You were perfect, Shepard. Perfect,” he sighed against her. He shifted slightly, and he heard her hiss in pain. He looked down at her body and felt horrible. She had scrapes and bruises everywhere. His talons had left deep gouges in some places. He knew her backside was worse.

“Hey,” she said, grasping his face, “This is what I wanted. Nothing a little medigel can’t patch up.” 

He nodded and went to grab some. He spread it all over her wounds gently. “Some cultures think that this custom is about the male showing dominance over the female. Going as hard as possible to prove he is a worthy and strong mate, but it’s not. It’s about giving everything you have to that person. Promising that you won’t withhold any of yourself to them, for the rest of your days. I promise that to you, Shepard. You get everything I have, every day, for the rest of my life.”

“I promise that too,” she said as she rested her head against his. “For as long as I have.” 

He looked at her then, worried. “Hey, you’re gonna make it through this war Shepard. You have to,” he said pressing his forehead to hers. 

“There’s one more thing, Shep” he said softly.

“Yeah, but I don’t think any other Turians will like that.” 

“Well screw them then. I want it. Do you?”

She looked up at him and nodded. 

“Besides, I have a feeling that after this war, Turian-Human relations will be looking a lot better, thanks to you. They already love you a hell of a lot more than any other human.” He smiled at her. “Come on,” he said, reaching out a hand to help her up. 

She hissed in pain, and she put a hand over her folds. “Shepard, maybe that was too much,” he said, realizing she was hurt there as well.

“No, Garrus, that was important. To me too. I’ll be ok. I just don’t want to walk the rest of the night.” 

He picked her up and put her in the bed. He went to the bag he had brought with him and took out a canister. 

“This is just temporary, but it’ll last a few weeks before we can get the real deal.” He opened it up to reveal a blue substance. “I’ve… I’ve been practicing,” he said as he put some on his fingers. 

She smiled up at him, “Oh yeah?” She turned her face upwards and he began to draw his colony markings across her nose and cheeks. 

“Damn Shepard, I never thought I’d be doing this. I’m not gonna lie, I… I…” he started to choke up.

She placed a hand around his wrist, “I know,” she whispered. 

Seeing his colony markings on her, along with their bond mark, he was overcome with emotion. He pulled himself together and finished painting. “There,” he whispered. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head, “You’re so beautiful, Mrs.Vakarian.” 

She laughed, “Thank you, husband.” She sighed, “We’ll have to have a tiny human ceremony too, ok?” 

“Anything for you,” he said as he laid down next to her. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shepard and Garrus entered the CIC, to join Victus and the Crew for a meeting. Victus started the greet them, and stopped abruptly, staring at Shepard’s face. 

“Commander, Garrus, it’s…..” 

Everyone in the squad noticed, and turned to watch what he was seeing. They all saw her face, and had questioning looks. The other races on her crew didn’t realize the significance, until Victus reached out his hand to Garrus and then Shepard, shaking vigourously. 

“Congratulations you two, sincerely. I’m very happy for you. Our races have come a long way, and this union is an amazing example of that. The galaxy watches you two for guidance and leadership already, and when they see this, well… I’m truly very happy for you.”

He seemed sincerely happy. The pair hadn’t been sure how they would be received, but Shepard saw the relief on Garrus’ face. The rest of the squad started to register then just what the colony markings on Shepard’s face meant, and they were suddenly surrounded by friendly punches, claps on the back, and cheers. It was one happy moment before the storm.

\---------------------------------------------

He watched her run towards the beam, fearlessly. _That’s my girl,_ he thought. This was finally it. They had made it to the finish line. Spirits, he prayed that she would live through this. _Take me, just not her,_ he thought. 

Suddenly, he heard a loud crash and watched a rover fly towards her, she dodged just in time, and his heart felt relief. Before he had time to react, a second loud crash and another rover was headed straight towards him. He dodged it just in time too, and he felt a little pride at matching her maneuver as he rolled to the side. Suddenly the rover exploded. He screamed in agony as he was enveloped by the flames. He rolled away quickly, and wheezed, gritting his teeth as he felt his metal armor sear at his skin. The pain of the burns took his breath away. He could barely see straight, and then suddenly, there she was, picking his ass up and bringing him to cover. Looks like she was watching his six this time. 

“We need a med-evac now!” she yelled out. He watched the Normandy fly into view. He went to protest, to insist he could go on, but the pain was searing away at his flesh, the smoke filled his lungs and he doubled over as he felt like his chest was about to explode. He looked down and saw that his right spur was still on fire, and probably broken. She saw it too, and quickly beat at it to stop the spread of flames. He cried out at the touch. Definitely broken. Shepard looked at him with a worried expression. She saw how his armor melted away, taking his skin with it, and how his armor glowed like embers in a fire, heard his ragged desperate gasps for air. She helped him to his feet and ran towards the Normandy. “Take him!” she shouted at Samara. 

“Shepard,” he choked out. He didn’t want anyone but her. 

“You’ve got to get out of here!” she yelled over the explosions. 

“And you’ve got to be kidding me!” he yelled back with effort. He took a step forward, he’d be damned if he wasn’t going with her, but as soon as he did he nearly collapsed, and Samara grunted trying to keep him upright. He felt the blood trickle from his exposed flesh down his neck and chest and he felt like he could puke from the pain. 

“Don’t argue, Garrus,” she said softly. 

“We’re in this to the end,” he persisted, still trying to gain his footing. He would drag himself along behind her if he had to, she wasn’t going alone. Seeing his colony markings on her face only pushed him further. 

“No matter what happens here,” she said, her voice thick with emotion, “You know I love you. I always will,” she caressed his cheek, and he grabbed her hand desperately. 

“Shepard, I…” he tried, but stopped. He tried to think of anything to say to change her mind. No Shepard without Vakarian. Where she went he went, always. And then, in that moment, he knew. It was always her, it had been from the beginning. Vakarian wasn’t even in the sentence. Shepard was the hero, the savior. It was always going to be her running first into this fight. And he could tell that she had known that for a while. Had known she wasn’t going to make it out of this one. And there was nothing he could say.   
“...love you, too,” he whispered, with as much meaning and feeling as he could put into those few words.

She smiled, and backed away from him. He kept his hand outstretched to her, not able to let go. She gave him one last smile, one last loving look, and then turned and ran. His arm hanging there, empty and pointless. The ship took off, and he stayed there and watched her run towards danger without him. Then watched as a laser blasted into the very spot she was running, before losing sight of her in the blast. His knees buckled, and he dropped to the ground, Samara unable to hold his weight. He wheezed in pain and heartache, unable to move, before passing out on the cold floor. 

\--------------------------------

He stood there, her name plate in his hands, and he felt as though he couldn’t take one more step towards that damned wall. He gently stroked his thumb over her name, as if it were her there in his arms. His heart had already broken, to the point where he thought there was nothing left to break. And yet here he stood, feeling the broken pieces shatter even more. The crew stared at him, waiting. He heard soft cries and sniffles. No one wanted to do it, but it was his job as her mate. And yet he just couldn’t. He couldn’t give up on her, not yet. He said nothing, but silently walked away with her nameplate in his hands.

“Garrus?” Joker called out softly.

“Not yet,” he replied over his shoulder as he headed to the battery. Joker followed slowly. “We have to check, Joker. I have to… I have to check.” 

Joker nodded, “You got it boss. I’ll lay in a route now. It’ll take us a while to get there, but a few communication vids have gotten through about a few repaired relays.” Joker turned around, and Garrus said a silent prayer in thanks that there was no push back. Everyone needed this, not just him. 

\----------------------------------

“You need to eat, Garrus,” Tali said softly. He didn’t reply, but kept looking over blueprints to the citadel. “Garrus, when we get there we’ll need to organize a search. It will be physically demanding. You need to eat.” She placed the plate down next to his terminal and walked away.

\----------------------------------------------------------

It took them two days, but they finally made it back to the citadel. There were already crews going through the wreckage, but he was the one who saw her last. He knew where to start. He barreled out as soon as they landed, with a team hot on his trail. Hell, the whole crew, not just those he had talked to. She had saved all their assess 100 times over, and they all were praying for a chance to return the favor. 

As night fell, one by one the crew returned to the Normandy. “Garrus, you need to rest, we all do. We can start fresh at first light.”   
He said nothing, but kept digging. “Garrus, you’re going to burn yourself out.”

Silence.   
“My omintool’s on, call me if you need me. Please, Garrus.” 

He kept digging as she walked away slowly. 

Once Tali was gone, and no one was around, Garrus fell to his knees. His mandibles pulled tight, his subharmonics screamed in a high pitched agony. “Damn it, Shepard! Where are you?!” He held his head in his hands, “I… I need you,” he sobbed silently. 

His sobs subsided as he pulled himself together. He looked around for any clues, and found nothing. Suddenly, he heard a strange rustling sound. 

He moved closer to it, and noticed something shiny about 30 yards away. As he moved closer, the noise became more clear. 

“Garrus,” it whispered. “Please, please find me.” She coughed and wheezed softly. “Garrus… Garrus..” she repeated his name over and over. 

He followed the sound to a large metal beam. He grunted as he lifted it. Two large rocks were in his way, and he moved them carefully. Her eyes were closed, and she didn’t seem to notice him or the weight that had been lifted off of her. “Shepard!” Garrus choked, “I’m here… Shepard!” But she didn’t stir. 

“Please… find me.. Garrus… Garrus will find me.. Garrus will find me,” she wheezed.

“That’s right, you know it Shep. I’ve always got your six,” he whispered as he sobbed softly, cradling her head in his lap. She was limp and so cold, not responding at all to his voice or his touch. He pulled out his omintool and called the medical team and messaged Tali. 

Her voice was growing more and more faint, “Stay with me Shep, stay with me!” he said as he brushed his fingers through her hair, and over her cheeks. He shook her gently, “Shepard, please… don’t leave me,” he sobbed softly. “Zyla! Please!” he said more loudly. 

“Garrus… Garrus will find me,” she whispered, before wheezing. He heard the rattle in her lungs, “No, Shep… Shepard.. No , no ,no…” he cried. 

Her breaths became so shallow that eventually he wasn’t sure if she was breathing. He saw on his headset that she had the lowest pulse, and it was dropping. He cried out in a panic. 

Suddenly, Tali appeared, “Over here!” she called to the medical team. They carefully set her in a harness and lifted her out of the crater she was in. Still holding her hand, he watched the heart monitor on his headset as she flatlined. Zero. Nothing. Gone.

“No…” he whispered. The med team saw the same thing, and they hurried their pace towards the Normandy, furiously working at their CPR devices. Once they got to the medical bay, Garrus was forced to stay outside. Tali sat beside him silently. Joker came and sat beside them as well, and then Liara. They all sat in silence, praying for another miracle. 

Garrus knew that coming back to life after two years dead was more miracle than anyone could ask for in a lifetime, but he was sure as hell asking for another. 

Dr. Chakwas slowly stepped out, and everyone held their breath. “We were able to resuscitate her,” she said and everyone breathed, “but she is not conscious. I can’t say when she’ll wake, or if she’ll wake. The damage is severe. But… but there’s.. There’s nothing else I can do,” she said, tears streaming down her face. 

Tali sniffled beside Garrus, and Joker’s head hung low. Garrus slowly stood, and walked into the medical bay. The lights dimmed, and the privacy shields engaged on the windows. Edi’s doing most likely. He slowly walked over to her, and wrapped his hand around hers. “I’ll always come for you,” he whispered. “I love you, Shepard. And I always will.” He sat beside her bed, feeling like he would stay there forever to watch her six if needed. “There’s no Vakarian without Shepard.” 

\-----------------------------------------------------

“Garrus, you need to eat.” 

“Tali,” he replied with a tired annoyance. His cheeks were gaunt, and his blue eyes had turned grey. His chest beneath his carapace was sunken and hollowed, and his normally vibrant skin was dull. 

“Garrus, you’re killing yourself,” she whispered.  
“I just.. I just can’t, Tali, I’m sorry,” he whispered back.

“When Shepard wakes up and sees you like this, she’s gonna be pissed,” she responded shortly. 

Tears came to his eyes, and the Quarian nearly cried from the sight of him. 

He turned his head away from her and looked at Shepard’s face, and rested his head on the bed by her arm. “I… I just need to rest,” he said softly, and drifted off quickly.

  
\--------------------

He awoke with a needle in his arm. “You were dying from starvation, and I had to do something about it,” Dr. Chakwas said in an annoyed tone. “Your vitals were ridiculously low.” 

He simply nodded. He just couldn’t bring himself to care. The doctor sighed, and left the room. 

A few minutes later, Kelly walked in. “Dr. Chakwas told me you’re getting worse.” 

Garrus couldn’t bring himself to respond. 

“I know you’re more worried about her than yourself, but when she comes around, you’re going to want to take care of her. And you can’t do that if you’ve no strength, or if you’re malnourished and dehydrated.” They sat in silence for a moment. “I’ll be here when you’re ready, Garrus. We all are,” she said, and she got up and set up a workspace near Dr. Chakwas’ desk. 

\--------------------------------------------------

He felt her caressing his neck and petting his fringe. Spirits, it had been so long since he had felt her touch. Two months since he had found her, and watched her die in front of him. He sighed, wishing he wasn’t waking up. Even dreaming of her touch was better than the hell he lived in now. He came to slowly, but her touch lingered. He opened his eyes, and there she was. Her beautiful smile, her witty eyes, and her feather light touches. He inhaled sharply, “Shepard!” 

“Hey there big guy,” she said softly. Her eyes changed from kind to worry instantly, “Garrus,” she gasped as she took in the sight of him. His dull eyes and skin, his sunken chest and shoulders. “Are you.. Are you sick, what’s the matter?” she placed a hand on his mandible.

Tears welled up in his eyes, and he choked out, “Shepard.” He took her hand in his and kissed it, and pressed his forehead against hers. “I thought… I thought I had lost you,” he whispered. 

He opened his eyes, and found that tears were streaming down her face, “Oh Garrus, I’m so sorry.” She ran her fingers over his taut cheeks, his hollowed chest, the bandages over the large burns all over his face, neck, and arms. “I knew you would come. I knew you would find me, Garrus. It’s the last thing I thought about as the rubble fell on me.”  
  
He nodded, “You were calling out for me,” he choked out. “You kept saying, “Garrus will find me”. You know I’ve always got your six, Shepard.” 

“And you did,” she smiled, “thank you.” 

He half sobbed, half laughed. “Don’t mention it, Shep.” 

\-----------------------------------------

He carried her to her bed on the Normandy. After her injuries and spending so much time in the coma, she was so weak. She slept most of the day, and when she was awake, she checked on him, making sure he was eating and sleeping properly. 

“Garrus, go sleep in your bed for the night, I’ll be ok,” she had said one day in the medbay.

“No.. please,” he choked out instantly, “don’t make me go Shep. I… I need to be with you,” he pleaded. 

“I’m not going anywhere,” she assured. But she could tell by the look on her face it was going to take a long time for him to believe it. “Well, at least come lay up here with me or on a cot. Your back has to be killing you.” 

He didn’t want to hurt her, so he had pulled a cot up next to hers. 

Now, a few weeks later, she was cleared from ICU and was able to sleep in her quarters. He carried her all the way there, nuzzling her hair with his nose, breathing in her scent, and placed her gently in bed. 

“Now that we’re here,” she said, raising her eyebrows.

“Ha,” he said sarcastically. “I almost break you when you’re at full capacity Shep, I might put you back in a coma if we fool around now.” 

“Darn,” she said, as she slipped down beneath the covers. “Soon,” she whispered as she fell asleep. “I miss my Turian.” 

He smiled and kissed the top of her head. “I miss my Human.” 

\-------------------------

“Go slow, Shep!” he called out as she rushed down the stairs. 

“I’m good, Vakarian!” she replied back as she stumbled into his arms.

“Uh-huh,” he said skeptically as he caught her. 

“I’m just excited!” she said.

“Last doctors visit, last physical therapy… you’ve done great Shepard. Really, but, still, take it easy ok? For my sake?” he said gently as he watched her struggle to reach her arm around to put her coat on. He knew she struggled. He knew she still hurt, but didn’t want to admit it.

\-----------------------

She walked out of the office with a huge grin, “cleared!” she said limping towards him.   
“We just have to keep doing your exercises, right?” he said with a knowing tone.

“Ugh, yes,” she said as she rolled her eyes. 

They walked back to their cottage, had eaten dinner and watched the sunset on their new balcony. Retired life was an adjustment, but Garrus had to say he didn’t mind it as much as he would have when he was younger. They had earned it. And he’d do anything to keep her from harm's way, to keep her from going out in the fight again. His burns had been more serious than anyone had thought, and he was still getting treated for them regularly, but he was doing better now. 

He pulled out his datapad to do more research.

“Gentle positions for your human partner?” she read over his shoulder. “I am not some fragile...”   
He hadn’t meant for her to see that, and quickly kissed her deeply to try and hold off some of her anger.   
“I just… when we start… if we… I don’t… I don’t want to hurt you Shep,” he said awkwardly. 

She pulled his face to look at her, “we’ll go slow,” she said more softly. She straddled his lap, and they stayed like that for some time. At first, just kissing and soft licks and nips and caresses. Eventually, he entered her in what felt like the first time in years as she sat on his lap. She moaned softly, and her head rolled onto his shoulder.

“You good, Shep?” he asked before pushing deeper.

“So good, big guy, so.. Nghh… good,” she said as she rolled her hips causing him to go deeper into her. 

He smiled against her head, and kissed her hair gently. He placed his hands on her hips and helped her thrust into him. He wanted tonight to be her speed, and was resigned to control very little. Her head rolled back, exposing her throat to him as she groaned with pleasure. He loved seeing her like this. In such bliss and pleasure just from the feel of him… just from him being inside her. He wasn’t even thrusting or adding anything special, and she was moaning blissfully. He never thought he could be that for someone. Never thought he would be lucky enough. He kissed at her neck, licking her sensually, feeling the goosebumps rise on her soft flesh. She pushed his shoulders back so that he laid back on the pillows. She grasped at the back of his neck under his fringe, and he moaned. Her other hand held onto his carapace, grasping for something to hold as she began to ride him harder. He lifted his hips slowly and gently, pushing even deeper into her, his pelvic plates pushing against that spot she loves. She cried out, and began to tremble. He kept an eye on her nervously. “God, Garrus… that… ugh… you feel so good,” she said as her head rolled back and her hair swept against his thighs. His own eyes rolled to the back of his head, as pleasure overcame him at her words. He felt her walls begin to spasm around his length, and he knew she was close. He held her waist in one hand and her breast in the other and lifted his hips again, slowly rocking into her. She picked up her pace, moving against him harder. He groaned with pleasure, his subvocals starting to lose control. She felt the vibrations of them through her core, and it sent her over the edge. She cried out, as her walls clamped down around him, continuing to work her hips and grind into him. He squeezed her hips, and allowed himself to find his release too. He grunted as his length spasmed within her, and he felt her collapse against his chest. He ran his fingers through her hair, and sighed. 

He kissed the top of her head and whispered, “I missed you.” 

She looked up and kissed him deeply. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------

A week later, and they were both feeling much better. Shepard was no longer limping, and had even started doing a small amount of pushups in the morning to regain her strength. 

Garrus had been waiting for the right time, had been waiting for things to be better, and he decided they finally were. Now was the time. Shepard walked onto the balcony one evening, to find a vid waiting for her on a data pad. 

“Hey Shep,” Garrus’ picture popped up on the screen. “So, listen, I uh..” he started awkwardly, “I know we’ve established that you’re a one Turian woman, and I’m a one Human man. Hell, we even talked about finding out what a Turian-Human baby might look like… but… after everything we’ve been through… Shepard you are the most amazing person in the galaxy. Smart, sexy, determined, not to mention a goddamned hero. But that’s plain for everyone to see. I see something else, Shep. I see the Woman who fights for everyone, even when it’s someone she doesn’t know, even when it doesn’t affect her. She’s compassionate and kind, but also a complete badass who will not hesitate to knock your ass out of a window if you deserve it. A badass who will stare death in the face every single time if it needs to be done. Someone who has my six, always. And you know I’ve always got yours, Shep. So, what do you say... “ the vid stopped abruptly. 

“Ahem,” Garrus cleared his throat behind her and she jumped, and turned around to find him down on one knee. “The vids said this was the right thing to do, so I hope it is… but.. Shep… will you marry me?” He held out a small wedding band.

A huge smile spread across her face. “Garrus, we’re already married. I have the marks to prove it.” She pressed her forehead to his desperately, and he held her close.

“I owe you a human ceremony. And after everything we’ve been through, I…. I love you, Shepard.”

“I love you too, Garrus.” 

“Just promise me Shep, this is forever.”

Shepard smiled, “Turians and Humans bond for life. I’ll always love you, Garrus. You’ll never be alone,” she whispered.

“Never,” he choked out. “There’s no Vakarian without Shepard.” 

“Nope,” she smiled. She kissed him with desperation and urgency, and he returned the gesture in the same way. He ripped off her clothes with his talon, and she giggled as she tried to unclasp his pants from his spurs. He pushed her onto the bed, and spread her legs as he leaned down between them. She felt his long tongue enter her and she gasped loudly. She pushed at her sweet spot with his finger, and licked at her greedily. Her back arched off the bed and she moaned his name loudly, gripping at the cowl of his carapace. He licked at her mercilessly, his tongue going deep into her, flexible and strong. His mouth plates pressed against her and she ground into them. She screamed out his name with her release, and he slowly laid on top of her. She recovered quickly, urgently, and pushed him down onto the bed. His plates were wide open after hearing her climax, and she gently brushed her fingers along his seams, feeling his length slide out into her hands. She bent down, and before she even put her mouth on him, he whispered her name in anticipation, and rose his hips up slightly. This unique human act was unlike anything else, and it was one of his favorite things, she knew. She licked at him, before slowly taking him into her mouth. He groaned and his subvocals instantly kicked into high-gear. She licked every ridge along his length, all the way to the pointed tip, and sucked intensely. He shouted out her name, gripping her hair and her head in his large hands, curing his two fingers through large locks of her hair and pulling. “Shepard,” he called out again.

“Yes, bondmate?” she replied, her lips still around his length. His eyes shot open in surprise, and he quickly pulled her up to kiss her deeply, his subvocals humming with pure joy. 

“You’re my everything,” he said softly as he gently pushed her down onto the bed, carefully climbing on top of her. She smiled as she guided him to her. He pushed slowly into her, and they both groaned heavily. 

“Damn, Shep,” he said once he was further inside of her. “UGh, damn it… it’s so good,” he gasped as he pulled out of her. He pushed into her once more, slowly. 

Shepard moaned in a high pitched voice, “ugh, God Garrus…. Oohh..”. The Oooh got him. She hadn’t made that noise before. It was sexual, feminine, vulnerable. He needed more of it. He took a talon and scraped lightly up her thigh before reaching her sweet spot, and rubbed it with a thumb.”Oooh!” she moaned again.

“Aggh… fuck Shepard,” he groaned, and began to thrust into her with more force.

“Harder, Garrus,” she begged.

“Shep,” he started, but she wasn’t having it.  
“Garrus.. Please…” she moaned.

He lifted out of her, and slammed back in hard. Spirits, did that feel good. He didn’t want to hurt her. She was so soft, so small. But he looked at her face and saw pure bliss. “OOOhh!” she cried out loudly, “Fuck! Oh, Garrus,” she moaned. That was all he needed. He left her, and slammed back down again, eliciting more moans from her. He did this a few times, and then started to pick up the pace. He was going faster and faster, until he couldn’t control it anymore. He made sure to extend his arms fully so his carapace wouldn’t hit her, and he made sure not to enter her fully so he wouldn’t hurt her with his pelvic plates, but he went as fast as he could. Her back arched off the bed and she quickly found her release, moaning and screaming his name loudly. That moaning, and her walls shattering around him, brought him to the edge. He shouted her name, grunting and groaning, every muscle spasming and flexing, his seed spilling into her in hot waves. 

He collapsed beside her and they both laid there, completely breathless for several minutes. She snuggled up next to him. “I can’t wait to marry you,” he said softly. 

She looked up into his eyes, “Garrus, I….”

“What Shep?” he asked quietly.

“You said that I’m a hero, but Garrus, you’re my hero. You’ve saved my ass more times than I can count. You always do what’s right, hell you’re my conscious, the one I go to for advice. You’re brave, and strong, and caring, intelligent, a brilliant leader. I.. It’s an honor to marry you, truly.” 

He looked at her in stunned silence.

“Did I finally make you blush?” she asked as she inspected his face more carefully.

“Heh, yeah,” he chuckled as he pulled her in close. “Spirits, I’m lucky.”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------

Garrus woke up with a start. She wasn’t in bed next to him. Everytime he woke up to an empty bed, a panic attack was sure follow. Where was she? Was she safe? He felt his breaths becoming labored, and he forced himself to get up to look for her. She’s here, she’s not gone, she’s here.

He heard retching from the bathroom, and he leaned against the door frame in relief when he saw her, and felt the panic fade. 

“You know,” he joked, pulling himself out of it, “I’m pretty sure the food on your honeymoon isn’t supposed to make you sick.”

“Ha-ha” she said sarcastically before diving into the toilet once more. He leaned down and rubbed her back, and offered her a towel. 

“You good, Shep?” he asked, “Did you get some of my food by accident?”

She shook her head, “No, I’m good. What time is it?” 

“Around 7 am,” he responded. “Want some breakfast?” he joked. 

She glared at him, “No.” 

He laughed, “Alright, well want to join me on the balcony and watch the sunrise?”

She smiled, “Yes. Much better.”

He sat down and she sat in his lap. “Seriously though, I wonder if you ate something weird.”

Shepard looked out at the sunrise, “I didn’t eat anything weird, Garrus.” She had a strange tone that made him look up at her.

“Are you sick?” he asked.

“I’m good now,” she smiled back. 

They watched the sunrise for a few minutes. “So what now, Mrs. Vakarian? We have our lives ahead of us it would seem. All to ourselves. No, off to give our lives for the galaxy. What next?”

She stared straight ahead, “What do you want Garrus?” 

“Well, we’re both spectre’s now, although I think given our records not a whole lot is expected of us. We could sit in this cottage for the rest of our lives and no one would dare ask us for any more favors. So really, we could do anything we wanted.”

“So..” she asked, “what is that?” 

He got quiet and stared out at the sunrise with her. “I just want to be with you Shep. You’re my home, my family.” 

“Will we be adopting any of those Krogan babies?” she laughed.

“Ha! Hell, I’d adopt any baby with you Shep,” he said seriously.

“Really?” she asked.

“Hell yeah.”

“Would we really make good parents? Fighting reapers in our spare time and all. Spectre life and what have you.” 

He brushed her cheek with his thumb, looking at her now. “Afraid daddy’s rifle collection will scare junior?”

“Ha, no. Worried he might love it.”

He saw through her joke, and stared into her eyes. “We’re a team, Shep. If we can handle reapers and collectors, and death, we can do that together too. I’ve seen your badass self take down the worst in the galaxy, but I’ve seen you take care of the galaxy with compassion too.”

She smiled at him. “Besides Shep, you said it yourself. I don’t think biology is in our favor on this one.”

She chuckled. “You’re sure you want to try? Do you want to be a dad?”

He looked away awkwardly, but then looked at her. “I’m really sure I want to be a parent with you.” 

She leaned over and kissed his mandible softly. She kept kissing up his jaw and whispered into his neck, “Well then, Garrus Vakarian, I’ve got good news for you.” 

He pulled back, and gave her a look, “Listen Shep, I really don’t want to adopt Wrex’s spare kids. I’m pretty sure he was joking, but even if he wasn’t. Maybe we could stick with human and turian.” 

She laughed loudly, “As funny as that would be big guy, that’s not my good news.” She took his face in her hands. “You’re gonna be a dad.” 

“Well.. sure Shep, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I don’t want to get our hopes up,” he started.

“No, you big dummy!” she laughed. She took his big hand and placed his three fingers on her abdomen gently. “You ARE going to be a dad. You are a dad. You’ve won the biology lottery. The galaxy will have another Vakarian, do I need to keep going?” she teased. 

He looked at her in shock. She realized how silent the room was. Normally his subvocals were always there, even if just barely. But now, nothing. Not a sound. She listened carefully. 

“Don’t mess with me, Shepard,” he said softly. 

“Garrus..” she started.  
  
“No, really Shep, ok? Don’t mess with me.” She suppressed a giggle. “All the research says it’s not possible.” 

“Well, I’m pretty sure our whole lives are all about saying fuck you to rules, so..” she continued smiling at him. “Hey, I’m serious Garrus, I’m not messing with you, I swear.” She took his face in her hands again, “I’m pregnant and yes, you’re the father, so… don’t jump to conclusions.” He remained silent. “Garrus…. Someplace warm and tropical, with a human-turian kid… the dream? Remember? Buddy?”

He slowly looked into her eyes, and she heard the faintest of sounds from his subharmonics, she couldn’t even make it out at first. Then it grew, and grew, and suddenly was the loudest she had ever been able to hear it. She watched as the reality set in, and a spark reached his eyes. “You’re… we’re… Zyla….” he stumbled on his words in excitement. She watched his mandibles click against his face as they were moving so quickly, his harmonics swirled around her, and he pulled her into his embrace. He pressed his forehead against hers, and then kissed her deeply. She giggled, and pressed his hand to her stomach once more.

“I love you,” he whispered as he bit into her bondmark.

“I love you too, Garrus,” she said softly as she bit into his, “always.”


End file.
